Saamana, the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, criticized the Maharashtra Government in its recent editorial for what it perceives as a lack of trust and coordination among state ministers. The editorial highlighted the presence of a "future Chief Minister" within each of the three major political factions—Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with Ajit Pawar.
The editorial expressed concern about a Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers advising fellow ministers to exercise caution to avoid government embarrassment.
"A Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers of the state have advised their fellow ministers to be careful so that the government does not have to face embarrassment. Even if he has given this advice as the head of the government, why should he find it necessary to give such orders to ministers? These ministers have also been asked to 'come well prepared'. Ministers have been advised to take briefings from officials properly and not tolerate the attitude of officials giving misleading information," the Saamana editorial read.
"It means that you do not have confidence in the competence of your ministers and you are afraid of being betrayed by the administration. The question is where is the coordination in the current government?" it said.
The publication raised pertinent questions about the nature of coordination within the government, particularly as ministers were advised to be well-prepared and to seek accurate briefings from officials, indicating a possible breakdown in communication and trust.
"So when there is no coordination, how will it be visible? When there is no coordination between the three parties and leaders, then how will there be coordination among the ministers? There is a 'future Chief Minister' hidden in each of these three parties. While this government already had a Deputy Chief Minister, another 'Deputy' was brought in to join him," the editorial read.
The editorial concluded by asserting that since the government came to power, Maharashtra has experienced a series of embarrassments.
"On the very first day of the Legislative session, his own MLAs complain to the Chief Minister about the ministers of his own party and the Chief Minister comes to the point of scolding his own ministers. What kind of coordination is this? Ever since this government came to power, there has been neither coordination nor trust in Maharashtra. What comes up again and again is just embarrassment. If the present government and its functioning is not an embarrassment for Maharashtra, then what is it?" the editorial concluded.